Campey Turf Care Systems have recently attended the first Groundcare event to be held as part of the SsangYong Blenheim Palace Horse Trials in the grounds of Blenheim Palace.

The SsangYong Blenheim Palace Horse Trials took place during the 13th – 16th September 2018. This world class international equestrian event showcases eventing classes, displays and demonstrations, competitions for grassroots riders and is generally a great fun event for the whole family. However, for the first time this year, Mandy Hervieu Event Director for Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials decided to hold a Ground Care Day within the palace grounds to highlight the preparation that goes into delivering an equestrian event of this kind.

Tim Holderness Roddam, Chairman of Blenheim Horse Trials explains “Having had quite a difficult year weather wise it was considered to be an excellent opportunity to bring together course builders and technical advisors and at the same time to hear from one or two experts on ground care and to be able to see some of the most up-to-date equipment that is available on the market displayed right here in the grounds of Blenheim.”

“We have here today representatives from the Polo world, Smiths Lawn, from Kirtlington Park all who have been experiencing similar problems with their ground care this year. said Tim. “ Also attending are our technical advisors, course builders and one or two organisers of similar events. This morning we had a very interesting talk on soil treatments from an expert in the field following up with a q&a session this afternoon. This is a great opportunity for them to then see the equipment and techniques used to tackle the issues highlighted.”

The day was supported by the STRI with a presentation in the morning by Steve Gengell on the work they do researching scientific solutions to develope new ways to improve the playing performance of sports surfaces.

This was followed by a presentation by Sarah Vousden from Aquatrols on water and nutrition management of turf surfaces.

Ian Pogson along with Ben Taylor were on site representing Campey Turf Care Systems with machinery such as the Dakota spreader, Vredo Seeder, Koro® FIELD TOP MAKER®, proving of interest.

“This is the first time an event of this kind has been held at Blenheim and it’s been surprisingly good. I went to the lectures and there were over 50 people attending, most of whom came up to the groundscare display area after the presentations. Some we had seen before, others were new contacts, but all were interested in decompaction and seeding, probably owing to the weather conditions earlier in the year. So, it’s been worthwhile. If they decide to do it again next year, we will definitely be here.